Digital Learninghttp://edexcellence.net/taxonomy/term/4/all
enPetrilli’s Christmas presenthttp://edexcellence.net/articles/petrilli%E2%80%99s-christmas-present
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>Petrilli’s Christmas present</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/robert-pondiscio">Robert Pondiscio</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">December 19, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><span style="line-height: 1.538em;">Just in time for Christmas, my Fordham colleague Mike Petrilli has left a present under the tree for inquisitive children and busy parents who don’t think the sky will fall if the kids get a little screen time now and again (it won’t).</span></p>
<p>Over the course of a year’s blog posts, and with the help of several able Fordham interns, Mike curated some of the best streaming web videos on Netflix, Amazon, and elsewhere. He then aligned them with <a href="http://www.coreknowledge.org/sequence">the Core Knowledge Sequence</a>, a robust list of subjects from pre-K to eighth grade that undergirds the curriculum at some of the nation’s most successful schools. These have now been repackaged into <a href="http://edexcellencemedia.net/wordpress/">a neat little website</a> he’s calling “Netflix Academy.” Homeschoolers for whom Core Knowledge is a subject of near-religious devotion will also be grateful for this resource. </p>
<p>You’ll find videos on science, literature, and U.S. and world history. Click on “Science,” for example, and you’ll see a drop-down menu organized by knowledge domains (aquatic life, mammals, insects, outer space, etc.). Within each domain are direct links to streaming videos from Netflix, National Geographic, PBS, YouTube, and others sources. You’ll also find movie versions of classic children’s book and lots more. It’s entertainment with high caloric content.</p>
<p>“As <a href="http://edexcellence.net/publications/knowledge-at-the-core-don-hirsch-core-knowledge-and-the-future-of-the-common-core">E.D. Hirsch Jr.</a> has argued for a quarter-century, the early elementary years are the ideal time to introduce children to the wonders of history (natural and otherwise), geography, literature, art, music, and more,” Mike writes.</p>
<p>I heartily agree. The impulse in education is “fewer topics, deeper learning”—better to go a mile deep than an inch wide—and I predict that some kids may wear out Netflix Academy watching every last video about dinosaurs or other topics of youthful obsession. But don’t dismiss the value of broad knowledge about a lot of different things—encourage your kids to sample widely. Common Core Standards <a href="http://blog.coreknowledge.org/2012/09/20/the-57-most-important-words-in-education-reform-ever/">correctly position literacy skills</a> as resting on a broad knowledge base. Ditto problem solving and critical thinking and other cognitive skills prized by teachers. It’s simply not possible to think well or deeply about a topic without factual knowledge about that topic. Hence the value of a little judiciously chosen screen time: If it engages kids and builds background knowledge, it’s a good thing (but don’t skimp on vacation reading; even simple texts typically have <a href="http://www.csun.edu/~krowlands/Content/Academic_Resources/Reading/Useful%20Articles/Cunningham-What%20Reading%20Does%20for%20the%20Mind.pdf">more sophisticated vocabulary</a> than the speech of college graduates).</p>
<p>Subject matter knowledge is the foundation of reading comprehension. As Kathleen Porter-Magee and I have <a href="http://edexcellence.net/articles/the-reading-paradox-how-standards-mislead-teachers">long argued in this space</a>, reading comprehension is really not a “skill” per se. Once kids can decode fluently, reading comprehension depends heavily on background knowledge—knowing a little about a lot of things makes for strong comprehension, while applying “reading strategies” to texts about unfamiliar topics doesn’t always help. Dan Willingham (speaking of videos) made this case as well as anyone in his YouTube video “Teaching Content is Teaching Reading.” </p>
<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RiP-ijdxqEc" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p>“By providing a solid grounding in the core domains of human civilization, we are providing two wonderful gifts for our children,” Mike observes. “A store of knowledge that will help them better understand the complexities of our universe as they grow older and a rich vocabulary that will make them strong, confident readers in these early, formative years.”</p>
<p>Indeed. So put your kids in front of Netflix Academy over the holidays and enjoy a few guilt-free hours of adult time. Or watch along with them. You’ll be helping them become better readers and thinkers. </p>
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</ul>Fri, 19 Dec 2014 14:54:22 +0000kmahnken@edexcellence.net57857 at http://edexcellence.netIs Personalized Learning Meeting Its Productivity Promise? Early Lessons from Pioneering Schoolshttp://edexcellence.net/articles/personalized-learning-meeting-its-productivity-promise-early-lessons-pioneering-schools
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>Is Personalized Learning Meeting Its Productivity Promise? Early Lessons from Pioneering Schools</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/elisabeth-hoyson">Elisabeth Hoyson</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">May 28, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>With belts tightening in communities across the land, education leaders are exploring novel ways to stretch the school dollar. One such approach is “personalized learning,” i.e., using technology to tailor coursework to individual students while making better use of teachers’ time. To determine whether personalized learning is helping schools get more bang for the buck, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) is conducting a cost study of twenty schools that received grants from the <a href="http://nextgenlearning.org/" target="_blank">Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) initiative</a>. In this brief, CRPE—halfway through its two-year study—presents its early findings from eight new charter schools, each of which was awarded $150,000 in their planning year and a matching grant of up to $300,000 during their first year of implementation. Unfortunately, CRPE found that these early implementers significantly missed their revenue projections: the median shortfall in private revenue (donations from philanthropies) was $120,600 per school (or 30 percent of expected donations), and the median shortfall in public revenue (due to lower than expected enrollment) was $135,000 per school (the median was off the mark by eighteen students, or 14 percent of forecasted enrollment). These missed projections forced the schools to cut budgets, and six out of the eight schools reverted to a more traditional budget model, investing more in labor and less in technology. (Some cuts were quite savvy, though: one principal, for instance, cut more than $100,000 from the school’s tech budget by switching from Macbook Air computers to cheaper Chromebooks.) In light of these experiences, CRPE outlines a number of early lessons for schools looking to successfully implement personalized-learning models—among these, (1) up front, spend money on student recruitment efforts; (2) develop a “worst-case scenario” budget; and (3) if budget cuts are necessary, consider hiring fewer staff than planned, at least for the first quarter or semester, as the model’s sustainability relies on maintaining high student-teacher ratios. These strike us as smart mid-course corrections that can help personalized learning schools achieve their potential.</p>
<p>SOURCE: Larry Miller, Betheny Gross, and Robin Lake, “<a href="http://www.crpe.org/sites/default/files/CRPE_personalized-learning-productivity-promise201405.pdf" target="_blank">Is Personalized Learning Meeting Its Productivity Promise? Early Lessons from Pioneering Schools</a>” (Seattle, WA: Center on Reinventing Public Education, May 2014).</p>
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</ul>Wed, 28 May 2014 20:49:18 +0000admin57025 at http://edexcellence.netA fifty-state strategy for course choicehttp://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/flypaper/a-fifty-state-strategy-for-course-choice
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>A fifty-state strategy for course choice</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/michael-brickman.html">Michael Brickman</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">May 14, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img height="760" width="1875" style="height: 247px; width: 610px;" class="media-element file-default" typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://edex.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/20140514-Expanding-the-Education-Universe-Banner_0s.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>For families seeking more than what their child’s assigned school offers, “school choice” has long been a cherished solution. And it’s made strong headway on the U.S. education-policy front. Millions of girls and boys now enjoy access to a range of educational options thanks to innovative school-choice policies.</p>
<p>Sometimes, however, changing schools isn’t the optimal solution—perhaps because no better options are available within a reasonable commute, because the state doesn’t have a viable choice policy, or because the student’s present school is satisfactory in all but a couple of areas. Enter “course choice,” a strategy for widening the education options available to youngsters. As a new <a href="http://www.edexcellencemedia.net/publications/2014/Expanding-the-Education-Universe-Course-Choice/Expanding-the-Education-Universe-Course-Choice-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">white paper</a> from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute argues, it has the potential to dramatically expand access to high-quality courses for many more children from many more backgrounds and locales than we have thus far managed.</p>
<p>Rather than asking kids in need of a better shake to change homes, forsake their friends, or take long bus rides, course choice enables them to learn from the best teachers in the state or nation while staying in their neighborhood schools. It grants them access to an array of course offerings that no one school can realistically gather under its roof, while offering a new revenue opportunity for schools and additional income for public-school teachers. How many Sal Khans are in our schools today just waiting for an opportunity to expand their impact?</p>
<p>As might be expected, online learning is part of the package, but course choice goes further: it allows K–12 students to learn from unconventional providers that might range from top-tier universities or innovative community colleges to local employers, labs, or hospitals. Moreover, these options can meet students where they are—in terms of geography, interest, and prior achievement—and, if designed properly, can fit the political and cultural contours of each community.</p>
<p>In devising such policies, state officials will need to tackle and resolve knotty questions about funding levels, what sorts of courses should be offered, which students may participate, and how course providers (and pupils themselves) can be held accountable for results. Our new paper seeks to help frame the options and explain some of the advantages and disadvantages that come with them. And it spotlights early-adopter Louisiana to show how that state’s lawmakers chose to answer such questions.</p>
<p>Course choice is no cure-all. It will face its own political hurdles and implementation challenges. And traditional school choice is still a worthy strategy for pupils whose present schools are struggling academically or ill-suited to their interests and circumstances. But well-wrought course-choice policies have the potential to customize learning and widen educational opportunities for millions more youngsters across America.</p>
<p>When considering such policies, the biggest tension is apt to arise over the question of control—of options, of resources, of children’s education programs, and of quality. Is course choice mainly a resource for school districts to deploy—under their control? Is it mainly something that families should be free to exercise as they see fit, outside the constraints of brick-and-mortar schools and districts? Or is it some combination of the two?</p>
<p>A related tension: where should course-choice policies originate? States are not the only possibility. A growing number of districts, schools, and even classrooms have enacted local versions by taking advantage of high-quality but low-cost (or free) online resources.</p>
<p>Some districts have also developed partnerships with local colleges and universities. The next step for bold district-level leaders will be to enact policies that seek out the best content, regardless of source, and deliver it to their students in order to provide the best education possible. They need not wait for their states to initiate such changes.</p>
<p>The third tension: who pays? Traditionally, school districts are responsible for both running and paying for their schools (with significant support from state and federal governments), and some critics insist that any other arrangement represents a perilous move toward “privatization.” But in many instances, these course providers are non-profits or even other schools. For that matter, what if they’re colleges or nonprofit groups? Does the child’s school district pay the cost? Does the state? The parents? Who decides what price is reasonable? How many kids can take how many such courses? Who controls this money? Who generates it?</p>
<p>Tension four: whose students are these, anyway? What if Molly takes all but one or two of her courses from course providers? Is she still a student at Madison High School? Does it still confer her diploma? Is it still the school’s job to determine whether she has truly fulfilled state or district graduation requirements? If not the school, then who? For that matter, even if Molly takes just one or two courses from outside sources, who determines whether she has truly “passed” them—and met the state’s standards for those subjects? Who confers her grade? How does that grade figure into her GPA or get reported to colleges she may want to attend?</p>
<p>None of these questions is trivial and none will be satisfactorily answered without serious consideration, weighing of options, and resolution of controversies over power, money, responsibility, and more. Our paper is intended to frame some of the key alternatives available to policymakers working their way through such dilemmas associated with course choice. We acknowledge that it’s complicated. But we’re convinced that it’s worth working out. We take for granted that states will reach different decisions, according to their needs, their resources, their political circumstances—and their courage.</p>
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</ul>Wed, 14 May 2014 21:11:39 +0000admin56972 at http://edexcellence.netNEW from Fordham: Expanding the Education Universe: A Fifty-State Strategy for Course Choicehttp://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/flypaper/new-from-fordham-expanding-the-education-universe-a-fifty
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>NEW from Fordham: Expanding the Education Universe: A Fifty-State Strategy for Course Choice</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/education-gadfly">The Education Gadfly</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">May 14, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><a href="http://edexcellence.net/publications/expanding-the-education-universe-a-fifty-state-strategy-for-course-choice" target="_blank"><img height="760" width="1875" style="width: 620px; height: 251px;" class="media-element file-default" typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://edex.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/20140514-Expanding-the-Education-Universe-Banner_0.png" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>After twenty years of expanding school-choice options, state leaders, educators, and families have a new tool: course choice, a strategy for students to learn from unconventional providers that might range from top-tier universities or innovative community colleges to local employers, labs, or hospitals.</p>
<p>In <em>E<a href="http://edexcellence.net/publications/expanding-the-education-universe-a-fifty-state-strategy-for-course-choice" target="_blank">xpanding the Education Universe: A Fifty-State Strategy for Course Choice</a></em>, Fordham’s Michael Brickman outlines policy questions and options to weigh when designing course-choice programs, including issues of student eligibility, course providers, funding, quality control, and accountability.</p>
<h3>Spotlight: Course Choice in Louisiana</h3>
<p>Louisiana is not the only state with a course-choice program (others include Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin), but it is the farthest along in making such options widely accessible—and the way it has handled any challenges posed by these programs make it an ideal exemplar. Read about barriers that State Superintendent John White and other leaders have had to overcome in designing and implementing course choice.</p>
<p>Download the report: <a href="http://edexcellence.net/publications/expanding-the-education-universe-a-fifty-state-strategy-for-course-choice" target="_blank"><em>Expanding the Education Universe: A Fifty-State Strategy for Course Choice</em></a></p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 14 May 2014 16:18:13 +0000ptatz@edexcellence.net56965 at http://edexcellence.netAre online credit recovery programs too flexible for their own good?http://edexcellence.net/articles/are-online-credit-recovery-programs-too-flexible-their-own-good
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>Are online credit recovery programs too flexible for their own good?</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/aaron-churchill">Aaron Churchill </a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">May 09, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>The digital revolution is sweeping across Ohio. This year, twenty-six e-schools, twelve of which serve students throughout the state, will educate <a href="http://www.edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/ohio-gadfly-daily/e-schools-drive-ohio%E2%80%99s-charter-school-growth">40,000 or so youngsters</a>. Countless more students will learn in a <a href="http://www.edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/ohio-gadfly-daily/2012/blended-learning-innovating-the-teaching-process.html">“blended” classroom</a> or take an online course at their brick-and-mortar school.</p>
<p>One emerging use of technology is to help secondary students recover credit. At first glance, the flexibility of online learning seems to be tailor-made for students who, for <a href="http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2014304210026">whatever reason</a>, are in dire need of credit recovery. But in her recent <a href="http://educationnext.org/credit-recovery-hits-mainstream/"><em>Education Next</em> article</a>, journalist Sarah Carr documents a few of the flies in the ointment when it comes to this nascent, computer-based approach to credit recovery.</p>
<p>First, the data and research about online credit-recovery are simply far “too incomplete.” According to an AIR analyst with whom Carr spoke, “Even basic questions are unanswered, like the size of the business [i.e., online learning providers] and the size of the need.” Second, she finds that there is practically no way to determine the quality of an online course provider. In fact, Carr described a New Orleans school where the principal ditched one provider because its courses failed to engage her students and the quizzes were mostly recycled until the student passed them. Lacking an external quality-control authority, the vetting of online courses remains the duty of local educators. Third, Carr provides a few examples of how credit-recovery can be misused and abused. She cites a New York City incident in which administrators pushed failing students into a credit-recovery program, evidently for the sole purpose of boosting graduation rates.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the NCAA has <a href="http://educationnext.org/behind-headline-ncaa-bans-coursework-completed-athletes-24-k12-inc-virtual-schools/">ramped up its scrutiny</a> of high school transcripts that include credits earned via online course taking. An NCAA spokesman remarked, “When kids are just clicking their way through courses, that’s generally not a college prep experience.”</p>
<p>Carr’s exposé jibes with the Ohio Auditor of State’s report on Columbus City Schools, which discovered awful abuses of its online credit-recovery program. (One can read the sordid details on pages <a href="https://ohioauditor.gov/auditsearch/Reports/2014/Columbus_CSD_10-11_Special_Franklin.pdf">forty-two to forty-five</a>.) In fact, this article is yet another stark reminder that while digital education is moving at breathtaking speed, data and research, quality control, and accountability in this realm are all moving at a snail’s pace. Can Ohio’s educators, researchers, and policymakers keep up?</p>
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</ul>Fri, 09 May 2014 18:59:18 +0000admin56979 at http://edexcellence.net2013 Digital Learning Report Card - Ohio gets a Dhttp://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/ohio-gadfly-daily/2013-digital-learning-report-card-ohio-gets-a-d
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>2013 Digital Learning Report Card - Ohio gets a D</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/jeff-murray">Jeff Murray</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">March 17, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>The goal is innovation and excellence in education, the preferred avenues are digital-learning approaches in any of various forms, and the work is geared toward removing barriers to these approaches: that is the background of Digital Learning Now’s 2013 report card, released last week. The report card measures and grades K–12 education policies in each of the nation’s fifty states against the ten elements that they determined were important to ensure high-quality digital learning (among them embracing new education models, utilizing technology to expand personalized learning, and eliminating barriers to blended learning). The top states this year were Utah and Florida, the only two to get as high as an A–. Ten states were in the B range, and the rest were C+ and below. So, how’d Ohio do? Overall, we scrounged up a D, as did Hawaii and Alaska. We were higher than Pennsylvania and Kentucky but far below Indiana and Michigan. Ohio’s bright spot was in the area of “quality instruction,” for which we received a B+, but that still left us in the middle of the pack, our overall grade pulled down by lack of appropriate funding and less-than-open access to bring that quality instruction equitably across the state. However, Ohio was singled out for a “high note” to end the year: the first round of <a href="http://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/ohio-gadfly-daily/the-straight-a-fund-efficient-yes-effective-time">Straight-A Fund awards</a> in December.</p>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> Digital Learning Now, <em><a href="http://reportcard.digitallearningnow.com/#grade0">2013 Digital Learning Report Card</a></em> (Excellence in Education, March, 2014)</p>
</div></div></div>Mon, 17 Mar 2014 17:28:20 +0000jmurray@edexcellence.net56731 at http://edexcellence.netThe New School: How the Information Age Will Save American Education from Itselfhttp://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/the-new-school-how-the-information-age-will-save-american
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>The New School: How the Information Age Will Save American Education from Itself</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/andrew-mcdonnell">Andrew McDonnell</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">February 06, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Like any relic of the industrial revolution, it’s time we took a wrench to the American education system. Or a bulldozer, argues Glenn Reynolds, distinguished professor of law at the University of Tennessee and InstaPundit blogger. In this book, he contends that the system will soon break down and reform will be unavoidable. In the first half of the book, he focuses on higher education, while in the second he touches on the K–12 bubble. Reynolds points out that the cost of education rapidly ballooned over the past few decades, while the substance diminished in value. College tuition has increased 7.45 percent per year since 1978, even outstripping the cost of housing (4.3 percent per year). Meanwhile, the real cost of K–12 education nearly tripled in that time. For all that expense, K–12 test scores have flat lined since 1970, and a study featured in the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Academically-Adrift-Limited-Learning-Campuses/dp/0226028569"><em>Academically Adrift</em></a> found that 36 percent of students demonstrated no academic improvement after four years in college. Meanwhile, society teaches teenagers to be infantile consumers of an inherently valuable education and blinds them to their potential value as skillful producers. Reynolds concludes that advances in technology and innovations in choice will bring reform and that public schools can either embrace that change or become obsolete. Parents and students will begin to reassess the skewed cost/value ratio and demand fundamental restructuring. While the book offers few substantive suggestions and no timeline, it does serve as a reminder that like any defective product, it is not a matter of if but when it will break.</p>
<p>SOURCE: Glenn Harlan Reynolds, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-New-School-Information-Education/dp/1594037108"><em>The New School: How the Information Age Will Save American Education from Itself</em></a> (Jackson, TN: Encounter Books, 2014).</p>
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</div></div></div>Thu, 06 Feb 2014 21:32:20 +0000ptatz@edexcellence.net56612 at http://edexcellence.netA Personalized Future for Education: Moving into the Twenty-First Century and Beyondhttp://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/a-personalized-future-for-education-moving-into-the-twenty-first
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>A Personalized Future for Education: Moving into the Twenty-First Century and Beyond</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/andrew-mcdonnell">Andrew McDonnell</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">January 16, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>In the last hundred years, the base of the United States economy has shifted from industry to knowledge—but the average American classroom operates in much the same way it always has: one teacher, up to thirty same-age students, four walls. This report from StudentsFirst argues that this one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t cut it in the modern world, in which mastery of higher-order knowledge and skills ought to matter more than time spent in front of a teacher—and that what we need is competency-based education. This approach, also known as the “personalized model,” is characterized by advancing students through school based on what they know and can do, using assessments to give them timely, differentiated support, made easier by the introduction of learning technology. The authors highlight the Chugach School District in Alaska as a leader in personalized learning: it replaced grade levels with ten performance levels, requiring all students to demonstrate a minimum proficiency of 80 percent of the material before moving to the next level. With these innovations in place, Chugach surged from the twentieth percentile in reading to the eightieth on the nationally normed California Achievement Test. Its system inspired the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition (RISC) model, which is used now in 173 schools serving 80,500 students nationwide. But in order for personalized learning to work, schools must be flexible and focus on competency—a real hurdle.</p>
<p>SOURCE: StudentsFirst, <a href="http://edref.3cdn.net/747a5e3416da3bbfa7_s2rm62kbf.pdf" target="_blank"><em>A Personalized Future for Education: Moving into the Twenty-First Century and Beyond</em></a> (Sacramento, CA: StudentsFirst, 2013).</p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 16 Jan 2014 20:05:37 +0000ptatz@edexcellence.net56531 at http://edexcellence.netCan MOOCs really, really right-size the classroom?http://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/ohio-gadfly-daily/can-moocs-really-really-right-size-the-classroom
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>Can MOOCs really, really right-size the classroom?</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/aaron-churchill">Aaron Churchill </a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">November 19, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Class size is an incessant policy issue—something like a leaky faucet. The din of the class-size debate drips in the background while the thunderclaps roar (Common Core! Charters!). Many parents and teachers drone on about class-size reductions; fiscal hawks want class-size increases. Meanwhile, wonks have observed America’s <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28">shrinking teacher to pupil ratio</a>, with trivial achievement gains to boot.</p>
<p>Education reformers—including Fordham (see our excellent, brand-new <a href="http://www.edexcellence.net/sites/default/files/publication/pdfs/20131119-Right-Sizing-the-Classroom-Making-the-Most-of-Great-Teachers-FINAL.pdf"><em>Right-sizing the Classroom</em></a> study)—have urged commonsense policies that put a school’s best teachers in front of more students. Doing this may boost student achievement—perhaps, as we found in our study, more so in upper-grade levels than elementary. But oftentimes this means the scrapping maximum class size mandates etched into teacher contracts or state law, a difficult task. <a href="http://www.educatedreporter.com/2013/11/to-boost-student-learning-should.html">Bryan Hassel</a>, co-director of <a href="http://publicimpact.com/">Public Impact</a>, articulates this position well, saying, “Ideally, schools would focus on increasing the number of students their best teachers have responsibility for.”</p>
<p>But it is MOOCs (“Massive Open Online Courses”) that have the potential to stretch the class-size debate the furthest. MOOCs could put the <em>nation’s </em>best teachers—not just a <em>school’s</em> best teachers—in front of more students. Presently, these online courses run the gamut, from an advanced high-school/freshman college course to advanced college-level courses. Professors from the nation’s top rated colleges and universities teach the courses. One can select from a smorgasbord of topics: Coursera and edX—the major players in the MOOC market—publicize, for instance, courses in <a href="https://www.coursera.org/course/dataanalysis">Data Analysis</a> (Johns Hopkins), <a href="https://www.edx.org/course/utaustin/ut-8-01x/jazz-appreciation/1149">Jazz Appreciation</a> (University of Texas), and <a href="https://www.coursera.org/course/lead-ei">Inspiring Leadership</a> (Case Western). The kicker: Enrollment is free.</p>
<p>The upside? A single, great instructor—one with superior content knowledge and pedagogical skill—can teach literally tens of thousands of students. MOOCs could be a game-changer for high-aptitude, rural high-school students who have slim access to advanced coursework. In 2011-12, for example, a staggering 149 out of 231 <a href="http://www.edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/ohio-gadfly-daily/2013/truck-stops-rural-schools-and-the-common-core.html">rural school districts in Ohio</a> reported that less than ten of their high-school graduates had taken an Advanced Placement exam. It could even shake up secondary education in America’s leafy suburbs. What “<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/18/arne-duncan-white-moms_n_4297789.html">white suburban mom</a>” would balk at their child taking a course from a <a href="https://www.edx.org/school/harvardx/allcourses">Harvard prof</a>, on school time?</p>
<p>True, MOOCs, as presently constituted, are obviously more applicable to higher education. But there is no reason to think they cannot be applied in a <a href="http://educationnext.org/moocs-in-size-small-please/">niche sort-of-way</a> in K-12 also—more likely in middle- and high-schools. (I am not aware if MOOC are being used at all in K-12 education; indeed, if you are using a MOOC, I’d be interested to learn how it is working.)</p>
<p>The MOOC bandwagon is running full steam ahead, but like most innovations, there are also limits. Without a doubt, not every grade level or subject will be conducive to a MOOC. Teaching English language arts via MOOC may not be feasible (except perhaps, grammar). Moreover, MOOCs may not work well in elementary grades. I also have strong reservations about full-online educational experiences—and I wouldn’t suggest a 100 percent MOOC education for any child. For one, there’s a ton of learning that occurs through teacher-to-student and student-to-student interactions. For two, the <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/cyber-schools-flunk-but-tax-money-keeps-flowing-97375.html">completely online schools</a> in Ohio evidently struggle, which hardly engenders confidence in wholesale digital education. Finally, it is unclear how student work is graded or how credit can be earned when students demonstrate mastery.</p>
<p>That being said, for the topics and courses where content knowledge reigns supreme (e.g., trigonometry or introductory economics) and where the “sage on the stage” lecture remains the dominant instructional method, MOOCs can place one of the best instructors <em>in the nation</em> in front of literally thousands of pupils. And, for free! That is revolutionary—and breaks through dripping disputes over class size—at least, potentially, for some grades and subjects.</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 19 Nov 2013 16:48:41 +0000jmurray@edexcellence.net56371 at http://edexcellence.netThe especially deserving poorhttp://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-weekly/the-especially-deserving-poor
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>The especially deserving poor</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">October 17, 2013</div></div></div>Thu, 17 Oct 2013 21:27:03 +0000ptatz@edexcellence.net56268 at http://edexcellence.netShaking things up in the best of wayshttp://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/shaking-things-up-in-the-best-of-ways
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>Shaking things up in the best of ways</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/education-gadfly">The Education Gadfly</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">October 17, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>The introduction of the Common Core standards is shaking up the $7 billion textbook industry, according to this great piece by <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/story/common-core-standards-shake-education-biz/" target="_blank">Sarah Garland</a>. Traditionally monopolized by a few very large publishing Goliaths, such as Pearson and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, the standards shift now favors small start-ups, which are nimbler and more eager to embrace change. Gadfly cheers the possibility that the Common Core could break up the behemoths’ oligopoly and pave the way for the little-but-fierce Davids, like Core Knowledge.</p>
<p>For the last few months, Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett has steadfastly refused to release <a href="http://articles.philly.com/2013-08-14/news/41378656_1_philly-schools-state-grant-corbett" target="_blank">$45 million</a> of federal funds earmarked for the Philly schools until the teacher union agreed to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/11/tom-corbett-philadelphia-schools_n_4080350.html" target="_blank">major concessions</a>, including a pay cut. But on Wednesday afternoon—with the union unwavering and <a href="http://www.paramuspost.com/article.php/20131014112906202" target="_blank">civil-rights groups</a> beginning to circle (and after the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2013/10/11/did-school-layoffs-budget-cuts-contribute-to-girls-death/" target="_blank">tragic death</a> of young girl from <a href="http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/23662449/girls-death-allegedly-linked-to-cash-strapped-school-district" target="_blank">asthma</a> at a school that, due to budget cuts, <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/10/13/philadelphia-officials-eye-school-budget-cuts-in-girl-asthma-death/" target="_blank">did not have a nurse</a>)—Corbett relented, arguing that he was satisfied with the other reforms made by the district. Which was <a href="http://edexcellence.net/commentary/podcasts/cardinals-vs-dodgers" target="_blank">probably the right call</a>.</p>
<p>We know this much: Moody’s investment analysts don’t much care for parental choice, but they <em>are</em> concerned about the credit-worthiness of school districts. The <a href="https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-Charter-schools-pose-greatest-credit-challenge-to-school-districts--PR_284505?WT.mc_id=NLTITLE_YYYYMMDD_PR_284505%3C%2Fp%3E" target="_blank">latest Moody’s report</a> shows that as charter schools gain public school market share in cities such as Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C., they’re putting financial stress on their local school systems, which have ended up with a negative credit outlook due to the students they’ve lost. But are charters really to blame? <a href="http://www.publiccharters.org/pressreleasepublic/default.aspx?id=1161" target="_blank">Nina Rees of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools</a> says many of these cities were distressed long before charters arrived. She’s right. What’s more, though, putting financial stress on districts is part of the whole idea: If districts can win back their customers to their own schools, they’d be doing fine financially. Maybe Moody’s analysts would feel differently if they had to send their <em>own</em> children to Detroit Public Schools. </p>
<p>An even-handed <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/opinion/thinking-sensibly-about-charter-schools.html" target="_blank"><em>New York Times</em> editorial</a> urged Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio to think rationally about the city’s charter school sector. The Grey Lady makes two main points: First, New York has “one of the nation’s most successful charter school systems.” Second, the next mayor can make the system even better by shutting down poor-quality schools, allowing only groups with proven track records to open new charters, and ensuring that colocations only occur in buildings large enough for all students to fit comfortably. We hope de Blasio takes the <em>Times</em>’s advice, if no one else’s.</p>
<p>Common Sense Media, an advocacy outfit that rates <a href="http://www.edexcellence.net/introducing-netflix-academy-the-best-educational-videos-available-for-streaming" target="_blank">children’s videos</a> and apps for age appropriateness, has issued a challenge to the educational-technology world: Come up with a national safeguard for students’ personal data. Ed tech, from assessment software to learning apps, has the potential to transform education fundamentally, but parents’ concerns for their children’s privacy are also well founded. Now is the time for red lines to be drawn with regards to student data.</p>
<p>The <em>Star-Ledger </em>ran a two-month investigation into <a href="http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/10/nj_private_schools_students_disabilities_spotty_oversight_high_salaries_nepotism_luxury_cars_busines.html" target="_blank">New Jersey private schools</a> that specialize in serving severely disabled children using public dollars (via so-called “private placement”). The laundry list of questionable financial practices—from blatant nepotism to the purchasing of expensive cars—while not an uncommon story in government contracting, particularly in the Garden State, was surprisingly widespread and quite sobering. But the question of how to improve these services is thorny. It is telling that the investigation did not even attempt to address whether the children are being provided quality services; while it may not be a stretch to guess that they are not, the issue remains that quality in the SpEd world is a tricky thing to measure. </p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 17 Oct 2013 19:54:16 +0000ptatz@edexcellence.net56264 at http://edexcellence.netNot without a fighthttp://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/not-without-a-fight
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>Not without a fight</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/education-gadfly">The Education Gadfly</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">October 10, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><a href="http://www.edexcellence.net/de-blasio-is-off-the-mark-on-pre-k" target="_blank">Bill de Blasio</a>, the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City, is no friend of charter schools. He’s been clear, for instance, that if he steps foot in City Hall, Bloomberg’s policy of <a href="http://www.edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/essential-reading-for-non-essential-personnel" target="_blank">not charging them rent </a>would be stopped and frisked. In response, 17,000 parents, students, and teachers <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/nyregion/charter-schools-fear-having-de-blasio-for-a-landlord.html?_r=0" target="_blank">marched across the Brooklyn Bridge</a> on <a href="http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/charter-schools-stage-mass-political-march-across-brooklyn-bridge-2013-10-08-171000" target="_blank">Tuesday</a> in <a href="http://www.ny1.com/content/news/190109/charter-school-supporters-march-across-brooklyn-bridge" target="_blank">support of charter schools</a> and <a href="http://bronx.news12.com/news/charter-school-families-demand-education-equality-during-protest-across-the-brooklyn-bridge-1.6220938" target="_blank">Bloomberg’s education policies</a>. For a particularly good summary of the issue, take a look at <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520704579125580451142834.html" target="_blank">Daniel Henninger</a>’s piece in the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>. For our analysis, check out this week’s <em><a href="http://edexcellence.net/commentary/podcasts/the-hacker-edition" target="_blank">Education Gadfly Show podcast</a></em>.</p>
<p>North Carolina and Los Angeles have both encountered problems with their high-profile tablets-for-students programs. In <a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2013/10/big_one-to-one_tablet_initiati.html" target="_blank">North Carolina</a>, around 10 percent of the 15,000 devices distributed have reportedly been defective, leading the state to suspend the program. And in L.A., some enterprising students managed to <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303796404579101383092553364.html" target="_blank">hack the tablets’ security filters</a> (score for <a href="http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/26/20709211-los-angeles-schools-halt-off-campus-ipad-use-after-students-hack-tablets?lite" target="_blank">teenage resourcefulness</a>—send them all to programming class!), leading officials to disallow taking the tablets off-campus—and boding ill for the program’s future after the school board reviews it later this month. While there’s no denying that tablets are the way of the future, there’s clearly some fine-tuning to be done.</p>
<p>Michael Brickman, Fordham’s national policy director, made it to NBC’s annual Education Nation wingding earlier this week. Here’s what he had to say: “The speakers were clearly top-notch. While the format didn’t dive too deeply into policy issues, the event’s wide audience provides education reform important exposure. Highlights for me included the standing ovation for two Medal of Honor winners, Joel Klein’s calm response to an angry questioner, and Jeb Bush’s optimistic and artfully communicated Q&amp;A with Brian Williams. In addition, other education conferences should take note of the event’s “Office Hours”—optional small-group sessions (made up of five to twenty people) with speakers following their remarks.</p>
<p>Over the weekend, the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-china-parents-bribe-to-get-students-into-top-schools-despite-campaign-against-corruption/2013/10/07/fa8d9d32-2a61-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html" target="_blank"><em>Washington Post</em></a> ran an investigation of China’s public education system, revealing how “almost everything, from admission to grades to teacher recommendations, is negotiable in Chinese schools if you know the right person or have enough cash.” The stories they tell serve as a scathing rebuke of education in a country that has supposedly made “reining in corruption” a main focus. This also makes us wonder about the validity of those sky-high <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/brown-center-chalkboard/posts/2013/10/09-pisa-china-problem-loveless?utm_campaign=brown-center-on-education-policy-at-brookings&amp;utm_source=hs_email&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=10522948&amp;_hsenc=p2ANqtz-889Cq4YnTz_MU-bZjEp1FOYHPpocSaGjZrzxprpdhsQDZB3UMt4sue48ml2y3ooC-k7B9gx6yYPTGykE33vZNTztU6vg&amp;_hsmi=10522948" target="_blank">Shanghai's PISA scores</a>.</p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 10 Oct 2013 20:46:03 +0000ptatz@edexcellence.net56243 at http://edexcellence.netThe hacker editionhttp://edexcellence.net/commentary/podcasts/the-hacker-edition
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>The hacker edition</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pc-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/michael-j-petrilli">Michael J. Petrilli</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/michael-brickman.html">Michael Brickman</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/amber-m-northern-phd">Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/pamela-tatz">Pamela Tatz</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">October 10, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-podcast-actual field-type-file field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>In this week’s podcast, Mike and Brickman talk tablet woes (and praise teenage hackers for their healthy disrespect for authority), charter support in NYC, and the research on voucher effectiveness. Amber tells us about PISA for geezers.</p>
<h2>Amber's Research Minute</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.oecd.org/site/piaac/Skills%20volume%201%20(eng)--full%20v8--eBook%20(01%2010%202013).pdf" target="_blank">OECD Skills Outlook 2013: First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills</a> by <span style="font-size: 0.923em; line-height: 1.5em;">OECD </span><span style="font-size: 0.923em; line-height: 1.5em;">(OECD Publishing, 2013).</span></p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 10 Oct 2013 19:08:16 +0000jportnoy@edexcellence.net56237 at http://edexcellence.netKhan Academy's forays into competency-based learning continue to impresshttp://edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-daily/khan-academys-forays-into-competency-based-learning-continue-to
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>Khan Academy&#039;s forays into competency-based learning continue to impress</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/michael-brickman.html">Michael Brickman</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">October 10, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Like many, I first became aware of Sal Khan and his Khan Academy when I watched his 2011 <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM95HHI4gLk" target="_blank">TED Talk</a> and was blown away. I immediately jumped onto the site to begin trying practice problems and watching videos in mathematics, the financial crisis, and history. What wowed me most about the site, however, were not Sal's video lessons. Many of those are good and quite informative and instructionally sound as far as they go, but they are also sometimes kind of rudimentary and not always super engaging.</p>
<p>What I loved more was how the site tracked and encouraged student growth and then allowed teachers to monitor that progress. The potential seemed huge for use in traditional or <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2012/12/11/what-is-the-flipped-classroom-model-and-why-is-it-amazing-with-infographic/" target="_blank">flipped classrooms</a>, yet Khan Academy was offering it all for free.</p>
<p>Since 2011, Khan Academy has grown by leaps and bounds—and seems to have gotten better, too. It's expanded its badging features (more on badges <a href="http://www.edexcellence.net/better-education-through-badges" target="_blank">here</a>) to reward students not only for mastering specific knowledge or progressing through lessons but also for being persistent or helpful to others through the site's rich coaching tools. The site also recently added a version in <a href="https://es.khanacademy.org/" target="_blank">Spanish</a>. Khan’s lessons are now part of multiple pilot programs in <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/talks-and-interviews/school-pilots" target="_blank">real-life classrooms</a>. The academy has built an outstanding <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/cs" target="_blank">computer-programming</a> site—and even has videos with <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/lebron-asks">Lebron James</a> asking math and science questions. You may have seen recent <u>TV ads</u> promoting its <a href="http://www.bettermoneyhabits.com/en/home.html" target="_blank">partnership</a> with Bank of America on financial literacy.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most impactful new feature, however, is the site's reorganization—just in mathematics, so far—around a "Learning Dashboard." I tried it out and kept being impressed with what the system threw at me.</p>
<p>When I first logged in, I was asked to take a pre-test to gauge my math prowess from arithmetic and decimals to advanced algebra and pre-calculus. Based on the questions I answered (probably around a dozen), I was awarded a flurry of badges and the system filled in tiny squares on my dashboard that signified (or so I was given to believe!) competency along a continuum from "Needs Practice" (no progress made) to "Practiced" to "Level One" and "Level Two" and, finally, "Mastered." In just a short period (by Khan’s diagnosis), I've mastered one skill (one-digit addition!), I've reached Level Two in twenty-three skills, I’ve attained Level One in sixteen skills, and I've practiced an additional fifty-four skills—and I have yet to even start acquiring another 409 skills in the Khan library that range from "Comparing with Multiplication" to "Slope of Secant Lines."</p>
<p>Ah, so much more math knowledge to conquer. This might seem overwhelming and discouraging, but the system automatically creates a sequence for you to follow (and also lets you jump around the curriculum, if you prefer). If you are doing well, it moves you forward quickly, but if you are struggling it offers you a hint, a Khan video lesson, or something else to work on so you don't get frustrated. The system then periodically follows up with short "Mastery Challenges" for students to progress in the skills they've been practicing.</p>
<p>But what about quality? And pertinence? How can we be sure that any of this actually means anything in relation to what is being taught in schools? This is coming, if it’s not already there, as the growing Khan Academy team is in the process of aligning its math content with the Common Core and new lessons are being developed to fill in gaps. The progress of this effort can be tracked in real time on the <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/commoncore/map" target="_blank">Common Core Map</a> which, besides being a helpful tool for users of the site, might be the best tool for parents I've seen yet for understanding <em>specifically</em> what the Common Core math standards are all about.﻿</p>
<p>Right now, it still takes too much time on the Khan website to move through knowledge I already possess, and I’d be happier if there were greater access to mastery challenges or other mechanisms to prove competency more quickly from the outset. Perhaps a user could try to pass a test on higher-level skills along with a very brief follow up covering the skills a user has attempted to skip over.</p>
<p>But nobody’s perfect—and the Khan Academy folks are working hard to get closer to perfection. The program continues to impress, and the site is worth a visit if you haven't been there lately. Khan Academy has great potential for conventional classrooms, as well as learning outside school. Even if it turns out not to be widely adopted, however, it continues to show the education world the beginnings of what is possible with online competency-based learning.</p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 10 Oct 2013 18:35:58 +0000ptatz@edexcellence.net56236 at http://edexcellence.netBetter education through badges?http://edexcellence.net/better-education-through-badges
<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h1>Better education through badges?</h1></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-article-related-staff field-type-entityreference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/about-us/fordham-staff/michael-brickman.html">Michael Brickman</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">September 17, 2013</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>If you were surfing the web in mid-2004, you were almost certainly using Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser to do it. Despite frequent concerns over its security, stability, and speed, this single tool for viewing content online was then used by <u>more than 95 percent of Americans using the internet</u>.</p>
<p>Shortly thereafter, and with the help of a crowd-funded, full-page ad in the <em>New York Times</em>, a small non-profit named Mozilla quickly began to erode Microsoft's market share with its new, open-source Firefox browser. Today, even though Internet Explorer remains the default software on the still-ubiquitous Windows operating system for personal computers, only about one in four web users browse with it, while many millions now use Firefox along with Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome.</p>
<p>Today, Mozilla is undertaking a new challenge that, along with other recent technology-driven trends, has the potential to radically transform how Americans get educated and find work. The project is called <a href="http://openbadges.org/" target="_blank">Open Badges</a><u>,</u> and it might someday replace the résumé, the job search, and even education as we know it.</p>
<p>Classrooms are but one of many settings in which learning occurs, but demonstrating the sum total of what you know and what you can do on a college or job application often means turning over a transcript with little more than course titles and letter grades. Open Badges is a platform that allows anyone earn credentials by completing coursework or learning new skills in formal to quite informal settings. Badges are typically competency-based and tell potential employers exactly what types of skills or knowledge a person has acquired while allowing students to collect their certifications earned from a variety of educational providers.</p>
<p>A high school student could earn a badge for getting closer to proficiency in a <a href="http://www.badges4languages.org/our-badges/" target="_blank">foreign language</a>, another for developing software in a <a href="http://www.codeschool.com/" target="_blank">computer-programming language</a>, and a third in a traditional class where the teacher utilizes <a href="http://docs.moodle.org/25/en/Badges" target="_blank">Moodle</a> course-management software. Outside of class, the same child could earn a badge for learning about robotics with <a href="http://www.fyflnetwork.org/4hbadges/4-h-badges/youth-badges/" target="_blank">4-H</a> or meeting physical-fitness goals at the <a href="http://www.ymcanyc.org/association/pages/y-mvp" target="_blank">YMCA</a>. Existing education platforms like <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/badges" target="_blank">Kahn Academy</a> already utilize their own internal system of badges that might someday be compatible with Mozilla’s platform.</p>
<p>For every household name that issues Open Badges—even <a href="http://www.pil-network.com/pd/earnbadges" target="_blank">Microsoft</a> is offering them to teachers for integrating technology into the classroom—there will likely be numerous lesser-known organizations getting in on the game. These issuers will have the power to convert existing credentials into this new flexible format or develop new ones with the hope that the public will find them valuable.</p>
<p>Some may see a downside to the fact that a badge will not come with a guarantee of quality since anyone can create one. For now, badges are tied to the reputation of the issuer, but it is certainly conceivable that students could eventually rate the badges or respected third-party organizations could add value through some form of accreditation. Ultimately, Mozilla’s platform could one day create a more dynamic market for valued skills and knowledge that makes it easier to connect those seeking talent with those who possess it.</p>
<p>The implications for our traditional education system are potentially huge. Just as consumers benefited when the music industry moved from a sales model based on whole albums to one based on individual songs, so too will students be better off when they can create their own education playlists. Napster was certainly revolutionary, but it took iTunes and the iPod to move mp3 technology to the mainstream. We may soon see similar trends in education and the workforce.</p>
<p>Members of a younger generation are already accustomed to sharing just about everything online, so why not the valuable skills they have earned? But in a still-lagging economy where new skills can set job applicants apart, the more than thirty-six million American adults with <a href="http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/A_stronger_nation.pdf" target="_blank">some college but no degree</a> may find real value, too. This new platform could help students, especially adult learners, make themselves more marketable.</p>
<p>Certifications need not only be for hard skills mastered by completing assessments; they could also encompass valued attributes like writing, public speaking, timeliness, teamwork, or leadership. Just as increased freedom for music listeners has created a greater diversity of accessible options, this market-based approach will allow badge issuers and earners to find innovative ways to demonstrate well roundedness.</p>
<p>Early indications are quite positive for Open Badges, which now has strong <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qq7emqbzcA" target="_blank">backing</a> from the MacArthur Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative. The success of this endeavor will depend on the extent to which established and new players develop marketable, in-demand certifications that are widely earned. Still, with technological and economic changes promising more big shifts in education and the workforce, Open Badges seems to be coming along at just the right time.</p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 17 Sep 2013 20:55:15 +0000jportnoy@edexcellence.net56141 at http://edexcellence.net